Frozen Flames
by fromAmericawithlove
Summary: Both Gray and Natsu find themselves falling for Lucy. And as time goes by, a whole new kind of rivalry is born. Will Lucy fall for Gray, the strong and silent STRIPPER? Or Natsu, the loud and crazy DRAGON? It all depends, because the one who she really likes is a lion Celestial Spirit. When sheer jealousy arises between fire and ice, maybe only frozen flames will survive.
1. Ch 1: A Failed Mission

**FROZEN FLAMES**

**~ Prologue ~**

* * *

_She felt too conflicted._

_Being so intimate with Natsu the other night had stirred up something inside her that wasn't there before. And Gray… well, lately there was no denying he was interested. She wished he would ask her for another date, but he hadn't._

_She wasn't sure of how she should feel about that. Sad that he didn't want to see her again? Angry that he hadn't bothered to talk to her since that night? Or stay hopeful that he was just being shy, and would speak with her again soon?_

_Another part of her didn't even think she _should_ be feeling any of those. She wasn't even sure if she genuinely _liked_ him yet. The thing with Natsu didn't help her decide either._

_She continued reading her new book, and found that the heroine was in a relatable dilemma where she couldn't sort out her feelings for the two main boys. One was her best friend; the other was the handsome new guy in town. Both had confessed to her, but she didn't know who to pick. She wasn't even positive if she fully _liked_ either of them._

_At the last few pages when she was finally about to choose, Lucy couldn't take it anymore and slammed the book shut. She wanted to be with Natsu again, and yet she wanted to be with Gray. Did that truly mean she liked them?_

_But… _both_ of them?! Simply crushing on one of her comrades was enough, but _two_?_

_What would Mirajane do when she found out? And Juvia? The whole guild would freak out if they knew; Lucy was sure about that. Just look at how they reacted when they found out about her date with Gray the other night. If Mirajane heard Natsu was also involved in the mess… well, Lucy didn't even want to know what would happen. She'd first let all of Fairy Tail know, and then demand for the details. Violently. Just like when she first noticed both Natsu and Gray were acting strange around the celestial spirit __mage…_

_Oh Mavis, why did Lucy have to be friends with the biggest gossiper in Fiore?_

_And worse off, she was pretty sure both Natsu and Gray had more feelings for her than she previously thought._

* * *

_We are like dominoes_

**I fall for you**

_You fall for another_

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

"Is that all of them?" Erza asked, surveying the group.

"Looks like it." Natsu responded, crossing his arms.

Lucy shook her head. "_No_, we're not even close. We've only defeated four of the members. There were _nine_ in total, remember?"

Gray walked over to the group. "She's right. We were hired to take down a gang of nine who were causing havoc all over this place. The rest are probably scattered all over town."

Erza sighed. "Well, we'll just have to find them. Let's spread ou-"

"-You won't find them." A voice cut in.

Erza glared at the dark-haired, badly injured woman below her. "You don't know that. You're just a thief."

The woman narrowed her sky blue eyes. "We are not thieves. We were here for another reason." She deadpanned.

Lucy looked at the two women. The dark-haired criminal seemed bold for talking back to Erza even though she'd just been defeated. _Must be determined_, Lucy thought to herself.

"What was it? Causing harm to citizens?" Erza hissed back, clearly not impressed with the crippled woman.

"Erza, just ignore her. She's defeated; she can barely move. Let's just find the others." Lucy cut in.

"We'll come back, just you wait. This isn't the last you'll see of us." The woman on the ground murmured, her thick voice giving off a warning.

The team ignored her, and proceeded to find the rest of the group. Only five were left, and the first four seemed too easy. The others were probably a different story.

Lucy went off her own way, down an alley to the south of where the team had previously been. Erza, Gray, and Natsu had split up in their own directions also.

It wasn't long until Lucy began hearing shouts of _"Fire Dragon's Roar!"_ and _"Ice Make: Cannon!"_ all over the place. She heard the sounds of metals clashing together, obviously Erza's swords against an opponent's. Blasts of magic reached as high as the sky, and- to Lucy's dismay- buildings began toppling down.

No doubt the rest of the team had already found some of the other bandits. _And of course we won't be getting paid this time, _she thought miserably_. Why can't Natsu or Gray go on a mission without destroying a town?_

She continued searching, but either the others had already been found by the team or the rest were just good at hiding. "How annoying. They found the rest before me." She whined quietly to herself a while later, before deciding to walk back down the alley to find her team.

As she began striding over, she noticed a movement flicker to her left. A slight scuffling noise immediately reached her ears.

She narrowed her eyes, "Who's there?"

Maybe she got lucky. Maybe there was one left for her to defeat.

As if on cue, a figure rose up. Lucy instantly recognized her from the photo on the request board. _This is definitely one of them,_ she thought to herself.

The woman- one with long orange hair, wearing a green bikini top and jeans- sneered down at Lucy. Before she could even speak, the woman took off running.

"Oh no you don't!" Lucy shouted after her, and began the chase. _This one looks weaker than the rest,_ she realized_. I couldn't imagine getting stuck with one of the stronger ones._

She ran as fast as she could, her eyes never leaving the thief's back. _Why isn't she fighting like the rest?... _She briefly wondered.

The woman tried many times to shake her off, but Lucy wouldn't let her escape. She knew she had to take down at least _one_ of them. So far, it had been Erza, Gray, and Natsu doing most of the work. Lucy wanted to defeat _someone_. And this woman seemed like the perfect opportunity. Not too strong-looking, maybe even a bit weak—judging by her instant decision to run away.

The thief ran down another alleyway; Lucy close behind. "Quit running and fight me!" She demanded, just as the woman reached the end of the alley.

Soon, they both emerged into the town square. The orange-haired woman stopped near the center, close to where Erza, Natsu, and Gray had the other three members surrounded.

"Lucy! Don't let that one escape!" Erza called out.

"She's the one that can signal their leader! Be careful!" Gray added.

Lucy nodded, scowling. She faced the woman, who strangely looked around her age. Perhaps a little older—eighteen, nineteen… maybe even twenty?

She smirked, and pulled out a bright blue Bo Staff-like weapon. Lucy took this as her cue to pull out two Golden Keys of the Zodiac, "Gate of the-" She began.

But before she had a chance to finish, the burglar pressed some buttons on the weapon and a piece of it moved upwards, "-Wind Tempo!"

From the uncapped part of the weapon, large blasts of air shot forward, shoving Lucy back about ten feet and landing hard on her back.

"Lucy!" She heard Natsu and Gray yell after her. She immediately jumped back up, only to see the other woman raising her weapon to the sky. "Signal Rocket!"

A firework-type missile shot high up, clearly visible by anyone within radius of the town. "Oh no! The signal!" Lucy cried out.

She looked back to the team, but they were busy fighting off the other three members_. What's going to happen? Is their leader really too strong for me to handle alone?... _

She didn't get a chance to find out. Before the team even knew it… _he_ appeared. The orange-haired woman quickly ran up to him, giving him a tight hug. He looked over his struggling comrades, and frowned.

He briefly closed his eyes. He focused purely on his energy, felt it pumping through his veins, linger outside his body, and then in a flash—he blasted it towards his enemies.

To an outsider, it would have seemed like the powerful Fairy Tail mages had just fallen unconscious out of nowhere. But to the leader and what's left of his crew, they immediately understood what he had used.

Once the four wizards passed out from the Haki's incredible power, the bandits quickly made their escape.

**-F-R-O-Z-E-N-F-L-A-M-E-S-**

Lucy's eyes slowly fluttered open. She groaned, and sat up.

It took her a few seconds to realize she was in her bedroom. She glanced around, slightly wondering if the mission had been a dream.

"Huh… that'd be nice…" She thought aloud, falling back down in bed.

"What would be nice?" A smooth voice asked from her kitchen.

Lucy almost jumped out of her skin. She quickly sat back up and spun around toward where she heard the voice, and gasped.

Not out of fear, of course.

"Loke?! What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.

He grinned cheerfully. "Are you feeling better, princess?"

She stared in confusion for a moment. Then within a few seconds, it finally clicked in her mind. The mission _wasn't_ a dream, unfortunately. She didn't need Loke to tell her that. Or the fact that she'd accidentally let that orange-haired woman signal the leader, and let who-knows-what happen next.

She almost _didn't want_ to know. All she remembered was the firework-like signal shooting high up, and then nothing. Almost like she'd immediately fainted on the spot.

"Where's the team?" She quickly asked, "What happened to them?" _And what happened to me_, she wanted to ask, but it wasn't important enough.

Loke walked over from the kitchen and sat down on the edge of her bed. "They're okay," He assured her. "Now lay back down. Wendy found some pretty bad wounds on your back. What happened to you?"

She subconsciously grinded her teeth together. Too many things she needed to know all at the same time. "Where are they? And what _did_ happen to me? I don't remember anything," She pushed the covers back, and tried to stand up. But her immense back pain made her whimper and slide back down. "_Ouch_… and where did the bandits go?"

Loke sighed, looking down. "They escaped. As for Natsu, Gray, and Erza, they're at the guild. Wendy is still looking after their injuries, though they're not extreme. And your answer is the same as theirs—that you have no idea what happened back there."

"So we… failed the mission…" She commented softly, more to herself than to Loke.

He nodded. "Lucy, please be careful. I've been looking after you all afternoon; Virgo had the morning shift. Wendy also left some medicine for you, and I think now's a good time for you to take it."

"I don't need it," She grunted, burying her face in a pillow and turning away from Loke. "Besides, I deserved this. It's my fault they got away."

"It wasn't-" He began.

"-You weren't there. You don't know what happened." She cut in sharply.

He sighed. "Your team didn't say it was your fault. I'm sure whatever happened was an accident." He stared down at her. "You're all lucky some townspeople were kind enough to notify the guild once the bandits escaped. They had some members bring you all home, while all of you were unconscious."

_So we really _were_ all passed out… it must have been the leader's doing…_ She realized, still hiding herself from Loke.

"I wonder what kind of magic the ringleader must have used." The Spirit mumbled, as if sensing his master's thoughts. "Some kind of power to make your whole team fall unconscious at the same time."

No matter what he said, he couldn't get the thought out of Lucy's mind. The fact that it was _her_ fault they lost. She simply couldn't get it out of her head. All she could think was_, I'm the one to blame. It's my fault we failed the mission…_

Loke nudged her a bit. "Hey, are you alright, princess? Please don't blame yourself for this." His voice sounded genuinely concerned.

She stayed quiet for a moment. "…I'm sorry for being such a bother." She finally spoke, barely audible.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You've been no such thing. We're your Spirits; we're happy to take care of you. You've taken such good care of _us_…"

She smiled a bit, and slowly sat back up. "I guess. But I still feel like everything was my fault. That we lost, that the bandits got away, that we all got hurt," Her voice began to trail off. "It was all because of me." She looked down, holding back tears.

Loke smiled sympathetically, "Don't think that way. It wasn't your fault. You tried your best, and that's what matters." He gently touched her shoulder, and she didn't move it away. "And besides, that sad look doesn't fit well with your beautiful face. Smile for me, Lucy?" He grinned.

She blushed a bit, and moved away from his touch. "Sh-Shut up…" She mumbled, hiding a small smile.

Well, it was nice to know he hadn't changed. Same old Loke. But, was that a good thing or bad thing?—what with his excessive flirting and all.

"That's cute. I like the blush. But I meant another kind of smile—a bigger one." He clarified, his grin even wider.

Lucy couldn't fight the smile as it made its way to her face. Loke always knew how to make her feel better. But the fact that she'd simply been a nuisance to the team this past mission continued to linger in her mind.

"You're still thinking about the job, aren't you?" He asked—once again as though he'd read her mind.

She looked up at him. "Well, yeah…" She admitted, the shame audible in her voice. "I wish I could've defeated that woman—so she wouldn't have been able to signal the leader. That way, we could have won. They wouldn't have escaped. And we could have…" She trailed off, the possible scenarios making her cringe with shame.

Loke watched her, a stern expression now on his face. "If you really needed help, why didn't you call me?"

She didn't meet his eyes. "Before I had the chance to… she attacked me…"

He didn't like to see his master in pain. He _hated_ to see her hurt in any way. "If anything, it's my fault. I should have sensed you in trouble_. I_ should have been there…"

Lucy stopped him before he could go any further. "No, it wasn't your fault either. And maybe if it was mine, I'll accept it. I just need to get stronger."

He met her eyes, surprised. "Lucy…?"

"I've decided I _need_ to get stronger. To help out my team. And for the sake of the guild."

"But you don't have to do that, princess…"

"I want to."

"But-"

"-It's my decision." She cut in.

Loke analyzed her closely, and could sense how determined she was. He grinned, "If that's what you'd like to do, then I have no objections. I'll support you as much as I can,"

She smiled. "Thank you."

"And besides, I know you'd be too stubborn to let me talk you out of it."

She lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up..."

…_I __**will**__ get stronger_, she vowed to herself_. I owe it to myself and the guild._

* * *

**A.N.:** And that's the end of the first chapter! xD I know it seems like a whole lot of _nothing_ happened—love triangle-wise, lol… but Lucy realizing she needed to get stronger was important. In fact, a good part of this story is about her training. But it's _not_ the whole point of the fanfic, obviously. Sorry to anyone who may have liked it to be.

Anyway, things might seem a little slow at first. But I promise—we will _definitely_ get to the tense Natsu/Lucy/Gray part later. Bear with me, lovelies! :) And another reminder, this is primarily a romantic-comedy story. So don't be expecting a lot of action. The "bandits" will be slightly important later on, plus they'll get identities, but only for Lucy's sake. (Virtual hugs for anyone who can name who they were based off of! :D)

Please don't forget to review. _Anything_ you say will be appreciated!(:

P.S., I have a feeling this is gonna be a looong story. 0_o Haha. Anyway. **You'll be getting some GraLu next chapter**! *squee* ;D


	2. Ch 2: Shameful Desire

**-Love Triangle-**

_I can stand her_

_Not loving me—_

_I can't stand her_

_Loving him._

* * *

Lucy held tight onto the fishing rod—trying her best to pull the enormous fish on the other line out of the lake. "Why… is this thing… so… _strong_?!" She grumbled out from between clenched teeth; the strength of the nearly-caught fish almost pulling her into the water.

The creature threatened to overpower her as her heels dug into the dirt ground. "You can do it, Lucy," Natsu snickered as he watched his friend continue her battle with the fish. "Put some back into it!" He yelled from a few feet away, comfortably sitting on the forest ground with his calm, water-bobbing fishing rod.

"The damn thing's too strong!" She shouted, just as her wrists began burning and heels slid a bit closer to the lake's edge. "Help me already."

Natsu laughed cheerfully as he got up and went over to Lucy. "These things aren't that tough. Here, let me try,"

But she didn't dare let go of the rod. She knew that if she did, the sudden movement would throw her over backwards. Natsu soon got behind her and placed his arms around her waist. "Now pull." He instructed, as he tugged on her waist to put more strength into the rod.

With the added power, the fish instantly gave up the fight and flew out of the lake. Water splashed all over the fishing spot as the enormous creature was pulled out, and landed with a thud onto the dry forest floor.

The loss of the extreme weight on the other line caused both Lucy and Natsu to fall over backwards in a heap. "Ouch!" Lucy groaned, once she fell to the ground.

"Hey, we did it!" Natsu yelled out gleefully, eyeing the huge 8-foot fish.

Lucy looked around, and noticed she had fallen over him. Her lower back was between his spread legs, his back against the forest ground. "No, _you_ did it." She pouted, getting off him and standing up.

But he didn't hear her as he jumped up and ran full-speed over to the fish. "Happy's gonna be so jealous~!" He sang as he lifted up the fish and roasted it with a breath of his fire.

Lucy sighed, and walked over to him. This fishing trip had been nothing but boring. Being around Natsu was fun, but sometimes it just felt like plain baby-sitting. She hadn't even wanted to try out the fishing rod, but he had forced her into it. "Just try it, you'll have fun!" He had encouraged. No, more like begged, after the fifth time she said no.

Her mind was still stuck on last week's mission. She still felt like she was the 'weak' one of the team, and wanted to change that. The long gap in strength between her and Natsu was terrifying. She couldn't even pull a damn _fish_ out of the water without his help.

"Hey, Natsu?"

He continued to devour the roasted fish. "Yeah?" He responded without looking up, his mouth full of fish.

She sat down next to him. Well, not too close—she didn't want pieces of chewed-up fish to splatter over her. "I've been thinking. Should I start training?" She asked innocently.

"Wha kine'a trainin'?" He mumbled with his mouth full.

"What kind of training? Oh, I mean like, just to get stronger," She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "Both physically and with my magic."

He momentarily paused eating. "Huh? You don't need to do that."

Her head snapped up to look at him. "_Yes_, I do. You saw what happened on our last mission. I'm… I'm weak, Natsu…" It pained her to say it—mostly because it counted her Spirits too. But she knew _they_ specifically weren't weak; she just needed better strategies to control them. And, she needed to strengthen her physical abilities. Without her keys, she knew she was vulnerable.

Natsu shook his head. "No, you're fine the way you are. No need to train,"

"But…" She paused. Did he really mean that? If she thought of it in a certain way—it was kind of sweet. But it normally wasn't like Natsu to be-

"I mean, that would be a waste of time, y'know? It would take a long time for your body to get stronger," He finished without thinking it through.

He grinned cockily, putting his fish aside to flex his muscles. "You ain't got nothing on th-"

He stopped when he noticed Lucy stand up suddenly.

Her hands were in fists, her blonde bangs shading her eyes. "Lucy…?" Natsu asked in surprise. _Smack_.

He rubbed his aching cheek as Lucy ran off, yelling, _"Natsu, you idiot!"_ as she left the forest.

_Huh, I wonder what's up with her, _he thought to himself.

"She's so weird." He laughed out loud.

**-F-R-O-Z-E-N-F-L-A-M-E-S-**

Gray watched as the guild doors slammed open, and a pissed-off looking blonde stomped in.

As she got further inside, he noticed it was none other than his comrade, Lucy. He chuckled to himself, _What did that fire-breathing idiot do this time?_

He watched her sit down at the guild's long counter and order a drink from Mira. _She looks cute when she's mad like that, _he couldn't help but admit. Thanks to Natsu, she looked like that a _lot_.

But then again, she _always_ looked cute. Ever since he met her, he felt an attraction to her just like basically every other guy in Fairy Tail. It was no secret that she was gorgeous.

_Guess I'll go make her feel better,_ he thought to himself as he moved away from the guild's entry and walked over to the counter.

The setting sun cast a bright orange and red glow through the windows of the guild as he got over. It was getting late; most people had already left Fairy Tail for the day. But the bar was still open, and serving Mira's weekly special; which was Lucy's favorite.

Sure enough, as Gray approached her, he noticed she was sipping on the strawberry smoothie. "What's up, Lucy?" He asked casually as he plopped down on the stool beside her.

She looked over—as if making sure he wasn't Natsu—and then responded, "Oh, nothing. I just ditched Natsu on our fishing trip is all." He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was still annoyed.

He chuckled a bit, "Finally you have the right of mind."

She snorted. "Hey, at least I don't fight with him twenty-four seven," He caught sight of her cute grin.

"Yeah…" He smiled, looking away.

She eyed her drink. "Want some?" She sweetly offered the brim-filled beverage to him.

He glanced down at it, "Sure." He took it and sipped lightly on the straw.

"…Hey," She pouted after a moment, "You're getting your germs on it."

He laughed, setting it down. "What are we, in first grade?"

She giggled, taking back her drink. "I meant you could try it from the glass." She said, as she looked down and mindlessly swirled the red-and-white striped straw around.

Gray lightly cleared his throat. "So… how'd Natsu piss you off this time?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Oh, he was just being an idiot as usual. He technically called me-" She paused, not wanting to say Natsu had called her weak. "-He said it would be a waste of time for me to train."

Gray's navy eyes widened a bit. "He did?" _Wow, I never knew he was on that level of stupid,_ he thought to himself.

She nodded solemnly, "Yeah. That's what he said after I suggested doing some training."

Gray chuckled, now fully recovered. "Well, do you _want_ to?"

She looked up at him, a bit of surprise in her chocolate orbs. "Oh, well…" She glanced back down, "I really want to, actually…"

Grinning, he responded, "Well it's a great idea. Not that you completely need it, but a little training would never hurt anyone."

Lucy grinned back. "I'm glad you think so,"

With a cute smile, Gray reached over and patted her soft blonde head. "Then let's do it."

Not that she wanted to admit it, but Lucy was actually thrilled about how well Gray took the suggestion. Unlike Natsu—that idiot always spoke before thinking. "'Lets'?" She echoed curiously.

He nodded, "Yeah. I can help train you, if you want?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Of course!" She pressed her palms together and placed them against her left cheek, grinning.

She knew that with both Gray's and Loke's help, her training could improve immensely and she could get a lot stronger. She knew Loke was a good teacher, and Gray had those strict and intelligent traits that were required to train another.

"Ah, you'll be performing some training, I see?" Mira appeared on the other side of the bar, and set down two drinks. "Then enjoy your last day of these. They're on the house~!" She exclaimed gleefully as she walked away, leaving the beverages in front of Lucy and Gray.

"I needed this." Gray murmured as he grabbed the alcoholic beverage and took a swig.

"A-Alcohol…?" Lucy looked down at the cup, unsure of whether or not to drink it.

"It's just one cup. Have some already," He said as he took another drink of his own.

"Well…" She knew Mira was right—no more of this during her training. But, she'd never even tried alcohol before. Now was her only chance for a long while. "okay," Before she could change her mind, she took a sip.

Gray laughed, "You call that a drink? Have some. Really. It'll make you forget about Natsu," He joked.

She chuckled, swallowing the substance. "I don't care about Natsu right now."

He laughed again, "That's my girl."

She took another careful drink. "What, so you've never had anything like this before?" He questioned, a bit of surprise in his expression.

"Nope."

All traces of emotion immediately left his face. Wait, what kind of drink was this anyway? Mira had served them, so it couldn't be too strong. He had recognized the taste from something he'd tried a long time ago, but-

_Oh shit._

He almost snapped his neck as he instantly turned his face to look back at Lucy. Surprisingly, she had already drank about half the cup. "Hey, I never knew alcohol could be this good~!" She sang gleefully, throwing her thin arms up in the air.

Gray looked down at his own cup, and facepalmed. The color was purple. And that meant it was a magical kind of beverage that practically gave the effects of crack. "…What now?" He grumbled to himself.

Lucy giggled cutely, "Why are you talking to yourself, Gray-kun~?"

He flinched, a tiny blush making its way to his cheeks. "Give me that." He growled as he snatched away the drink.

"No no, that's mine, you silly." Her words were already starting to slur. She reached over him to take back her drink, her chest nearly pressing to his.

His cheeks flushed furiously, and he began glancing around for Mira. But she was nowhere in sight. He slightly wondered to himself why _he_ hadn't began feeling the effects yet, but that could be because he'd already tried it and wasn't a newbie like Lucy.

"This is so yummy. I wonder why I haven't tried it before?" She giggled again, face flushed, as she took another swig.

"No… that's enough, Lucy." Gray tried to speak calmly—who knew how she'd react if he acted out harshly?

Besides, he knew how she could be. She may have said she's never tried alcohol before, but he could prove her wrong. After all, hadn't she gotten drunk (or drugged?) like this back before the Grand Magic Games? She had been all over Natsu that night, while Juvia wouldn't leave Gray alone. In fact, it was right before Team A's training, too.

"Here, let me help you stand up," Gray gently removed the cup from her hands—it was almost empty anyways. How could he have let this happen? He should have recognized the beverage sooner. Curse that Mira for bringing out such wicked voodoo shit anyway.

"Gray-kuuun~! You've never held me like this before, y'know?" She giggled as Gray pulled her off the stool and stood her up. He kept his arms around her to keep her from falling.

"Oh shut up." He grumbled under his breath, his cheeks burning.

She clung to his chest, and rubbed her head against his throat. "Ooooh, you're so chilly. It feels nice~" She whisper-sang, her mouth in a cute little '3' shape.

He inhaled sharply as she pressed more of her body to his. Dammit, why did she have to act all cute when she was drunk? "…Don't." He said, as if instructing a pet. He carefully peeled her off him.

"But Grayyy…" She looked up at him with adorable, pleading brown orbs. She clasped her hands together and gave her best puppy-dog look. "Carry me please?"

He felt his face burn again. This was usually not like him—getting all hot and embarrassed. But it was a different story when it came to Lucy. "What—no. You can stand just fine," He pouted, crossing his arms.

She reached forward and—to his surprise—gently touched him. She grabbed his chin with her thumb and pointer finger, pulling him close. "…Pretty please~?" She whispered seductively.

His blush deepened. Her gorgeous face was so close. Her cheeks were a rosy shade of pink, brown eyes half-lidded, and sweet lips parted mischievously.

How could he say no to a face like that?

His eyes scanned the guild—it was now even less filled than before. The sun had already set and it was now evening. Not even Mira was in sight—the guild was probably going to close in a few minutes.

"Well…" He figured he might as well take her home anyway. Besides, he couldn't let her walk home alone in her current state.

Before he could continue, Lucy jumped up and bear-hugged him. "Yaaay~!" She laughed another annoyingly-cute drunken laugh.

He stiffened as she kept her thin arms around him. She snuggled into him; his cool skin kept her nice and chilly. "Gray-kun, you're so nice." She slurred, a big smile on her face.

"I'm gonna kill Mira." He muttered.

He moved her away so he could pick her up. He turned, "Now jump," he instructed—and surprisingly—she did. He moved his hands up to place under her thighs, trying to ignore how soft and smooth her skin felt.

She pressed her chest to his back and laid her head on top of his. "Your back is so muscle-y." She happily mused, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Whatever…" He grumbled, trying to fight his blush. It wasn't like him to act like a red-faced idiot in front of girls—especially ones like Lucy—but her drunken state and cute behavior weren't helping. "Now, in which direction do you live again?"

A while later, Gray found himself wandering around random streets. Of course, Lucy wasn't in the right state to direct him. But, somehow, he came across a familiar area. "Strawberry Street, right?" He asked, more to himself then Lucy—who was still riding on his back.

"Sounds familiar, yep!" She sang.

She was still pretty messed up. Whatever Mira added to that drink, it was strong. Maybe she'd thought Lucy had tried it before—after all, those beverages mainly affected people who had never drank them before.

She had been giggling and humming the whole walk to her house. Once in a while, she'd let out a silly comment, and then go back to playing with Gray's hair. After all, it was 'so soft and spiky' like she had put it.

Gray let out a deep sigh of relief once he finally found her house. He hadn't been there in a long time—since Lucy often kicked him out for breaking in. It made sense to him… kind of. He just didn't see why she had to force him to leave. What was so wrong about coming in his boxers anyway?

"Okay, here it is." He mumbled as he set her down in front of her doorstep.

"Awwh, you're leaving me already?" She pouted, still behind him. She kept her arms around his waist as she hugged him from behind.

He stiffened again—he still wasn't used to feeling her chest press against him like that. It felt… awkward. And _nice_ in a way, of course—there was no denying that. "You can make it inside can't you?"

She giggled, though it was hard to see her in the dark. "My house keys are _somewhere_ on me…" She pulled away from his back and faced him.

"'Somewhere'?" He repeated, confused.

She smirked, which made Gray gulp nervously. "I think they're in my bra. Could you get them for me, please~?"

He felt his face break out in a cold sweat. "W-What? No! Get them yourself." He crossed his arms defiantly and looked away, trying to hide another blush.

She laughed. "That's so cute, Gray-kun. Maybe I'll just find Natsu-"

His eyes widened, "-Natsu?" He wasn't sure if he heard right. And besides, he didn't want to hear the rest of that sentence.

She nodded. "Mm-hmm," She hummed out. "He would do it. Besides, he's felt my-"

Gray didn't pay attention to the rest of that statement, and went in for the keys. Trying to ignore his sense of touch, he felt around strictly for something cold and solid.

She giggled and threw her head back in pleasure, "Your cold hands feel so good~!" She continued laughing until Gray found what he was looking for—in the left cup of her bra.

"There you are you piece of shit," He grumbled under his breath as he pulled out the house key and immediately put it into the lock.

Once inside, he led Lucy over to her bed. He paid no attention to her comments about sitting down and having another drink with him—that thought alone made his head hurt.

"Shhh. Just go to sleep," He told her gently as she laid herself down.

"But Gray-kun, I thought-" She began.

"-No, it's okay…" He whispered, bringing up her covers. "Just go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." _And freeze Mirajane solid,_ he added within his mind.

She pouted, the drunken blush still on her face. "Where are you going?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. Things better not lead to where he was thinking they would. "I'm going home now."

She eyed him as though he'd just broken her heart. "Don't leave me," She whimpered.

_How did I know she'd say that,_ he thought to himself bitterly. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, I promise," He was as careful and gentle with his words as he could be.

She frowned, and tugged on his sleeve. "Don't go." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Gray felt his heart speed up. It thumped in his chest, as if threatening to jump out. He didn't know what to do or say. He didn't want to hurt her and make her cry. But then again, he couldn't stay here. When she'd wake in the morning she would no doubt kick him right out.

"…I have to." He mumbles, and gently removes her hand from his sleeve. After all, if she remembered anything in the morning, she'd thank him for politely leaving. Wouldn't she?

Though just as he began walking away, he felt a strong force pull his wrist and drag him into the bed. He let out a cry of surprise as he landed on the bed next to Lucy.

"…What the hell?!" He yelled out in surprise.

She giggled. "Sleep with me, Gray-kun."

He gulped. She'd said that so casually.

"Pleaaase? Just for tonight?" She begged cutely, already moving closer to him.

He blushed bright red. Just thinking about that made him… uncomfortable. Yeah, 'uncomfortable'. Let's just go with that. "I can't. No way," He responded, trying to sound full of authority. But it came out more like a little boy refusing a new video game.

She yawned, and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Gray took that moment to sit up, ready to get out of Lucy's bed. "Wait," She stopped him, and he internally sighed. Truth is, he—like any other healthy male would—wanted nothing more than to accept her offer. But she was a friend; he couldn't do that to her in her current state. _If only she truly meant it…-_

"Just stay here until I fall asleep?"

Gray's navy blue orbs widened in surprise. That was a reasonable request. Wasn't it?

Ignoring the sirens in the back of his mind telling him to _just get out of there,_ he reluctantly nodded. "…Okay." She smiled and lay back down.

"But only until you fall asleep…" He repeated in a low whisper. He wasn't sure if he was telling that mostly to himself or to her.

Unsure of whether or not he should lie down, he remained sitting up—his back against her room wall. As time went by, he watched his comrade's resting face. She looked so serene and at peace with the world—like an angel. He thought she looked… perfect.

He didn't know how much time had passed. He continued on watching her until she was well asleep. But he never laid back down. He kept watching her until the sun started to rise again—when he realized how long he'd been there and bolted from her house.

* * *

**A.N.:** This chapter was pretty rushed, sorry :0

Fluff overload, anyone? Ahahaha, I thought we could use some, since there was all of zero NaLu _or_ GraLu fluff last chapter. c;

All we really got in plot development was Gray offering to train Lucy. That'll be important later. Anyways, we'll get more of Natsu and Loke next chapter, so I hope you stay tuned (:

See ya! And don't forget to review~! ( LOL at drunk Lucy, I just couldn't help it XD)


	3. Ch 3: His Competition

**And if I have a chance,**

_would you let me know?_

* * *

"That's perfect. Just focus on leaving your mind blank," Loke instructed.

Lucy sat cross-legged behind the guild, eyes closed and concentrating deeply. She wanted to tell him to shut up so she could keep her mind empty, but if she spoke, he would probably only tell her not to talk.

"Now think only about the power. You must feel the earth… the wind… your energy… feel it all through your skin. Next, breathe so deeply you become one with nature."

She had tried this training in the past—directly before the Grand Magic Games. Back then, Capricorn had been teaching her, but Loke volunteered in his place. She breathed in deeply, causing a small ring of wind to pick up surrounding her. It blew around the grass, dirt, and sand, causing a mini tornado of magic energy.

"Yes, that's it—you're doing it. Now don't let it slip awa-"

She tried hard to keep up the energy. But it was difficult to keep going. It put such an unbearable strain on her body that she couldn't keep it up any longer. "-Ahhh!" She yelped as she fell over, the energy disappearing.

Loke tsked. "You were doing such a great job. But it's understandable if it's too hard for you right now."

She sighed, breathing heavily and heart beating fast. "Yeah. Is there anything else we can try?"

He walked over and sat down next to her. "Well…" He looked away, and appeared uncertain. That was… unusual for him.

"Loke?" She asked curiously, peering up at him.

He looked up. "I haven't told you about the Inner Celestial Power, have I?"

She narrowed her eyes. "_No_, tell me why you haven't." She wanted to know everything about her magic and Loke should've known that. What if he was keeping a powerful spell from her just because he didn't want her to get hurt trying it?

He chuckled. "Must've slipped my mind," He ignored her irritated eye roll and continued. "There's actually a way that you can borrow your Spirits' magic powers while in combat; _without_ having to summon us."

Lucy instantly perked up. "Really?!" She asked in surprise. Her shiny brown eyes sparkled with excitement.

He smiled at his young and cute master. "Yes. But you must be a powerful Celestial Spirit wizard to obtain that ability. I believe you're strong enough; you do have ten of the Golden Zodiac keys, after all."

She jumped up happily. "That sounds amazing! I could use different magic…"

Loke stood up too. "Indeed. But I don't know much about it, so we'd have to do some research."

She smiled at her spirit, and for the first time—she stepped up to him and gave him a cheerful hug.

His eyes widened in surprise for a moment. But then he smiled and hugged her back. "I understand you're excited. But it'll be a lot of work." He reminded her.

She blushed a bit, fully realizing she was in his arms. Never had she attempted to hug him before. "Oh, right, yeah, of course…" She waved it off, removing herself from him. She tried to hide her blushing pink cheeks. _He smelled so good,_ she thought in the back of her mind. He was alluring, she had to admit.

"Crux would probably know more about it than me. You should ask him about it sometime."

"Right. In fact, I'll ask him right now…" She reached into the carrier clipped onto her belt and pulled out Crux's silver key.

Soon after, the enormous moon spirit appeared from a puff of smoke. "How may I help you?" He asked sleepily.

Lucy glanced up at him; hope in her shining eyes. "What can you tell me about the Inner Celestial Power?"

Within a few seconds, Crux slipped into slumber. Lucy watched him eagerly while Loke stood off to the side, waiting for Crux's response.

"Oh," The crescent awoke with a jolt. "Inner Celestial Power. A very difficult magic for a Celestial Spirit mage to obtain. But with careful training, you can boost your Stellar ability; therefore allowing you to keep your spirits out for an extended period of time. During this period, your spirits have to teach you their magic themselves. Of course, if you want to learn their magic—they have to be good at teaching it…" He yawned, and Lucy feared he'd fall asleep again any second. She only had minute or so of his time left.

"So that's it? I know how I can boost my capacities; Loke's been teaching me. But by when will I be able to-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as the spirit fell asleep once more; this time for good.

"Oh great," She mumbled under her breath. She sent back the now-useless spirit. "I guess I'll just have to train until I feel confident enough." She said as she turned back to Loke.

He uncrossed his arms and nodded. "I'm sure there are some ancient books on it too. Maybe you could try to get your hands on one. After all, only the most powerful Celestial Spirit wizards have been able to learn the Inner Celestial Power."

"Wow… that's amazing. But I can still try."

"Of course. Now, I'm afraid my time is running out. We've been here quite a while, haven't we?"

Lucy sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad we were able to train a bit. Thanks so much, Loke."

He smiled and patted her head. "Be seeing you." And with that, he disappeared.

Now alone, Lucy decided to go back inside the guild. She could use something to drink and maybe a little rest. All the magic-boosting training with Loke took up the whole morning, and she could successfully say her first day of training went quite well.

Though, she had to admit, when she first woke up this morning—she felt horrible. _Massive_ hangover. But that wasn't something she wanted to think about. After all, she could barely remember why she even _had_ a hangover. She only briefly remembered having a strawberry smoothie last night and then… nothing.

It was all a blur. But she didn't care to know anyways. She just didn't want to believe anything embarrassing might have happened to her last night…

As she was walking up to Fairy Tail's backdoors, she heard a sudden commotion from behind them. _What's going on in there?..._ she briefly wondered.

Just as she was reaching the doors—they slammed open and she saw Gray running outside. "Dammit, stay away!" He called out irritably.

"But Gray-sama, I love you~!" Juvia cheered, pink hearts surrounding her as always.

She lunged to hug him, but at the last possible second, Gray dodged and caused Juvia to fall to the ground. "No thanks." He spat out coldly.

Lucy gasped in surprise. She was _not_ expecting that.

Juvia looked up, horrorstricken.

Gray glanced down at her in disapproval. "From now on, I'm going to clearly lay out the things I don't like.*"

The water mage was stunned into silence for a moment. Lucy, who was standing off to the side, tried her best to stay out of her view. She didn't want any false accusations.

But right when Lucy guessed Juvia would either cry a fountain of tears or violently force Gray to say he loves her—she did something else. "Gray-sama is so lovely when he insults Juvia~!" She cried out, voice full of love (or was that lust?) as she cupped her cheeks happily.

"YOU'RE CREEPY!" He shouted out in surprise.

She pranced off, saying something about writing about it in her diary or whatever.

As soon as she was gone, Gray sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Lucy cautiously walked up to him, wondering if he would stay in a bad mood or not. She guessed the latter, though. "Are you okay?" She asked, voice soft.

"Fine as I'll ever be," He grumbled.

"…You know, I never thought you'd reject her like that." She responded back after a moment.

"It doesn't matter. She didn't believe a word of it anyway," She nodded in understanding. He had a point.

"So what were you doing out here?" Gray asked. He couldn't exactly look her in the eye. Not after what happened last night. But, luckily, it seemed she didn't remember any of it.

"I was doing some training with Loke all morning. But he had to go back. I was right about to go inside, actually." She watched Gray closely. For some reason, there was something bugging her about him. Not in a bad way; she just felt there was something missing about him. Or maybe it was her. And it had to do with him. Like a memory…

"Oh yeah, you mentioned something about wanting to train yesterday." As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly wanted to take them back. He didn't want her to remember their encounter from last night. It was much too embarrassing.

"Yeah, and…" She trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face. "…Did we talk yesterday?"

Oh great, the one thing he didn't want her to ask.

"…We talk _every_ day." He responded back as vaguely as he could.

"I know, but…" She gave up. She must have figured it was nothing. "Never mind,"

He smiled a bit. "So about that training? Did you want me to help you or not?" He nearly clamped his own mouth shut. At this point he wanted to cut his own tongue off. _Why_ the hell had he said that?!

"Oh… yeah, sure. I'd love your help." She sounded as if it was the first time she heard the suggestion. That was good. Maybe it didn't ring a bell from last night after all.

** -F-R-O-Z-E-N-F-L-A-M-E-S-**

A while later, Gray and Lucy appeared in Magnolia's city library. Lucy had told him about the 'Inner Celestial Power' and how there could be ancient books on the subject. That was when Gray suggested they go to the library and see if there were any there.

"Oh, maybe that one?" The blonde reached up high, stretching her thin arm up to grab a thick book from atop a high shelf.

Gray slouched at the table nearest the shelf Lucy was looking through. "That's like, the fifteenth book you've picked up. I think we should give up for now." He yawned and leaned into his chair, subconsciously stripping off his shirt.

She brought the heavy book to the table, but not before popping her eyes out at Gray's nudity. "Put your clothes back on!" She whisper-shouted, trying to stay quiet within the public library.

He waved off the command. "In a bit. Did you check that one?"

She rolled her eyes and opened the book. After scanning the table of contents for a few minutes, she still found nothing about the Inner Celestial Power. "Not in this one either," She pouted.

Gray chuckled. "Told you. So, can we leave now?"

"Not yet!" She covered her mouth. It was _really_ hard not to yell at him in a quiet place.

She sighed as she went over to the shelf of 'Ancient Magic' books. Yes, there was really a shelf dedicated to only that genre. In a world of magic like this, Lucy still felt giddy about little things as such.

As she searched again for a book on ancient spells, she couldn't help but miss her buddy Natsu. Sure he was annoying, and sure she was still a bit angry with him, but at least he would help her out in here. Gray may have suggested they go to the library, but he hadn't helped her find a single book. He'd jokingly claimed to be 'allergic of dusty old books' as an accuse to keep from searching.

"Hey, that one looks interesting." She commented as she reached up high for another book. She knew she may as well be talking to herself, due to Gray's lack of enthusiasm for finding more information on the Inner Celestial Power.

But even when she stretched her arm up as high as she could, she could _not_ reach the book. "Come… here…" She grumbled out, fingers barely skimming the book's edge as she stood on the very tips of her toes.

"Heh, which one do you want? Shorty."

Lucy gasped in surprise when she felt Gray's presence directly behind her. Repeat, _directly_ behind her. He was pressed to her back; she could feel him from his bare chest down to his waist.

She blushed bright red, but pointed up to the book. Wordlessly he reached over her shoulder and pulled it down. "This one?"

Face flushed, she nodded. "Uh… y-yeah…"

He noticed her odd behavior and smirked. "What's wrong?"

Her face burned even hotter. "N-Nothing!" She hadn't felt this flustered in a long time. "Why would s-something be wrong…?!" She needed to keep it down. And just shut up already. If she kept running her mouth, she knew she'd end up saying something she didn't want to.

He chuckled, "Alright, whatever."

That idiot knew damn well what he did. What was he, a seducer?

"Your cheeks are really pink." He observed, as if totally innocent. But he held back a smirk.

"SHUT UP!" She hit him with the book, causing large amounts of dust to fly all over the place. They both laughed and coughed at the same time—getting the librarian's attention for maybe the tenth time.

"Out!" She finally instructed. Those two were something else. No other couple had come into her library and been as noisy as they.

As the pair ran out of the library, Lucy couldn't help but laugh again. "I can't believe we just got kicked out of a _library_. I thought that only happened on cartoons."

Gray chuckled again. "I know. The librarian's just an ass."

She nudged him. "Be nice," She said, even if she wouldn't want to herself. Thinking back about that book she had just gotten her hands on, she sighed. "I had _just_ grabbed the last one. What if that was the book with information on the Inner Celestial Power?" She whined.

Gray rolled his eyes. "You can come back again tomorrow." He threw an arm over her sagging shoulders, smirking again when her cheeks tinged pink.

** -F-R-O-Z-E-N-F-L-A-M-E-S-**

In an old cottage within the Magnolia forest, Natsu lay on his hammock, bored out of his mind_. I wonder if she's still mad at me?... _he wondered to himself.

He was staring at the ceiling, arms tucked beneath his head, as he recalled how much Lucy had been avoiding him since their last fishing trip.

He was starting to feel like what he said was the wrong thing. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings. And if that was why she was angry, he'd like to fix it. But each time he saw her, she managed to disappear or she was busy with someone else.

He noticed her often with either Loke or Gray. For some reason, he felt a bit awkward about it. Normally, Lucy was with either him or Erza. _Not_ those guys. He briefly wondered if it could be because of what he'd said.

_"I thought Lucy was OUR best friend?!"_ Happy had cried out when he realized the same thing. _"Why is she with Gray and Loke now?"_

Natsu hadn't known how to respond. He didn't want to tell him that Lucy was angry with him.

And besides, even _he_ felt weird about it. Lucy usually stuck with him, not that ice bastard. **_I'm_**_ the one who brought her here, to Fairy Tail… _he recalled, looking up at the wall of mission requests. He specifically eyed the one for Duke Everlue, where he'd attached a note saying, "The first mission I completed with Lucy!**"

He shook his head. He needed to stop. He didn't know why, but he had this odd feeling in the back of his mind; this weird thought that Lucy somehow belonged to him for that reason.

But of course, he knew that wasn't true. She didn't have to stay with him all the time if she didn't want to, right?

_We're best buddies,_ he thought_. I should really find her and apologize._

He remembered that she'd said something about wanting to train. He could definitely help her. If he offered, maybe she wouldn't be mad anymore.

With that last thought, he bolted out of his house to go find her.

A while later, Natsu found himself in the middle of Magnolia. _I wonder what she could be doing way out here?... _he thought to himself. The streets were crowded with people leaving work to go home as the sun slowly began to set.

Her scent was getting stronger, so Natsu continued to follow it. _Wait… is that… __**Gray's**__ scent mixed in with hers?... _he slowly realized as he got closer and closer to his destination.

Just as he appeared in the alleyway near the side of the Magnolia Public Library, he instantly recognized both Lucy's and Gray's scents nearby. _Are they… together?_

At that moment, the front doors to the library burst open.

And out ran the ice mage and spirit summoner.

They were laughing hysterically, making jokes about what sounded like a librarian_. Why is he with Lucy?..._ he wondered, a frown making its way to his face.

He wasn't sure why, but that bothered him. After all, Gray's weirdness would probably rub off on Lucy and Natsu didn't want that.

_He thinks he can steal her from me, huh? Well, we'll have to see about that…_ he thought devilishly. _Lucy is __**my**__ best friend, not his._

* * *

**A.N.: **Oh dear,we have Natsu being his usual dense self x0

Of course, he's mistaking his feelings for those of friendship. He thinks he wants her to be only _his…_ best friend. Maybe it's more than that, Natsu~

Believe me, I want to throw in some NaLu moments, but I can't. Not yet. I'm trying to make everyone as in-character as possible. GraLu moments are easy right now; because that's the kind of relationship Gray and Lucy have currently. You know, could get romantic with some development. But with NaLu (mostly Natsu)… he's still pretty clueless. It would take a lot for him to fully realize his feelings and/or actually make a move ._.

Not that NaLu couldn't happen, of course. It's probably the most developed relationship in Fairy Tail. But it probably wouldn't happen till the very end of the series X_x

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, there'll hopefully be some more NaLu in this soon. But it'll be slow at first T.T Bear with me? Oh and, there was something else I wanted to talk about. *cue rant mode* THAT NALI IN FT MANGA CHAPTER 367. IT. PISSED. ME. OFF. It's like, really Hiro? Really?! WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY? NATSU AND LISANNA STARK NAKED WHILE LOCKED IN A JAIL CELL TOGETHER? Fuck. You. Hiro. Fuck. You.

… Anyways … I thought I should clear these up…

_*****Gray glanced down at her in disapproval. "From now on, I'm going to clearly lay out the things I don't like."_

This scene between Gray and Juvia really happened in the FT manga chapter 338. I thought I should put Gray's canon rejection to Juvia in this story, just to make things seem more believable. Not that I don't think Gray might canonly like Lucy XD

_******He specifically eyed the one for Duke Everlue, where he'd attached a note saying, "The first mission I completed with Lucy!"_

If you don't remember, this was canon too. I forgot what anime episode it was in ._. But yeah, I just wanted you all to know that sweet gesture really happened~

Alright, I'm finally done now. Sorry for the long A.N.'s (T_T) But I like to cover stuff. And yeah. Updates are gonna be slow cuz I'm working on Hetalia Country x Reader one-shots, and those are like, so much fun to write XD

See ya~!


	4. Ch 4: And So It Begins

**Typical.**

He likes me.

I like you.

I have no idea whether

You like me or not.

* * *

"Thanks for coming with me, Gray. It would've been really boring without you," Lucy grinned sweetly as she waved goodbye to the ice mage. "See you tomorrow~" She sang as she shut her front door.

Gray gave her a two-fingered salute as the door closed. "See you." He whispered out below his breath, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

Sighing, he turned and started walking down the street. Today had actually been really fun. Even if he hadn't done much at the library with her. But at least they had a good time talking and laughing.

She had never found her book on the 'Inner Celestial Power', but she still seemed content. Which was good. He realized that he really liked her smile.

Well, there were a _lot_ of things he liked about her. And today had made him notice just how special, beautiful, and lovely she really was. If he thought she was wonderful before, it couldn't compare to how he felt now.

Thinking about how close he felt to her that afternoon, he couldn't help but feel something odd stir up inside him. He'd never felt anything like this before, but wasn't stupid enough not to understand. He knew his feelings for her were growing into more than just a harmless crush.

_If I really liked her, would that be bad? _He wondered to himself as he walked back to his house_. No, of course not, _he told himself.

As he sauntered past a bench and large bush, he began to hear a slight rumbling. "…'the hell is that?" He quietly wondered aloud as he got into an ice-mage stance.

A few seconds past, and yet another shaking noise was heard from the bush. "Uh, who's there?" Gray asked the bush, feeling a bit stupid. _Can't be too careful,_ he thought in the back of his mind.

At that moment, a dark figure jumped out at nearly the speed of light and tackled him to the ground.

"Ugh, Natsu, what the hell?" Gray grumbled out angrily as he pushed off the fire mage. He started to sit up before Natsu pinned him back down again.

"What were you doing with Lucy?" He deadpanned, sitting on top of him like a monkey.

"_Nothing_." He hissed back, struggling to free his wrists of Natsu's grasp.

"Then why were you at the library with her?" He questioned, still holding tight onto the accused ice wizard.

"We were looking for a _book_, duh. But you wouldn't know anything about those." He smirked as he rose his knee up and harshly kicked him in the gut.

Ignoring the pain in his stomach, Natsu shot back up as Gray jumped to his feet. "I know what a book is, ice-brain! It's one of those things with a lot of paper in it, right…?" He momentarily got distracted from his interrogation, trying to remember exactly what a book was.

Gray rolled his eyes and dusted off his long white coat. Ignoring him, he turned away and continued walking.

"Hey! Don't walk away from me!" Natsu called after him, and jumped onto his back. "…What's up with you and Lucy lately anyways?"

Gray's eye twitched, "Get _off_." He growled, shaking Natsu off.

Frowning, he responded, "Why are you guys always together lately?" He kept up with Gray's long strides as he walked to who-knows-where.

"Why should you care?" He retorted back, subconsciously picking up his pace.

Natsu also sped up his walk, "Just tell me."

Gray's pace nearly turned into a jog, their rivalry changing a simple walk into a competitive race. "No."

Natsu bashed his shoulder against Gray's as they started running, "You have to! Technically since I brought her to Fairy Tail, she's mine." He accidentally let the words slip out.

Gray snorted, "That's _ridiculous_. You're just being stupid,"

"Am not!" He shouted back, both of them sprinting by now.

"Are too!"

"ARE NOT, YOU ICE BASTARD!"

"… I don't have time for your idiocy." Gray halted, just as Natsu slid about five feet to stop his run. Irritated, he turned in the other direction and ran off to lose the annoyance.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE! FIGHT ME ALREADY!" Natsu called after him, flinging his arms around like a little kid.

"…Whatever." He growled to himself, crossing his arms as he caught sight of Gray across the horizon.

Scoffing to himself, he kicked a stone and started walking again. To where, he had no idea. Maybe back to the guild to go get Happy, and then head home.

He couldn't understand why, but he felt pretty shaken up. He wasn't kidding about the fight. Normally it was just a test of strength, but this time, he really wanted to do it just to feel the satisfaction of punching his rival in the face.

_…Why did I say that?_ he wondered to himself. _That Lucy's mine? I know she's not. She belongs to Fairy Tail, not me._ And besides, he knew very well that no one could 'own' another person. Almost laughing to himself, he thought, _Maybe that ice idiot was actually right. I __**was**__ being stupid._

He didn't know why he was being so protective of Lucy. Maybe it had become a second nature of his; some kind of instinct. It felt natural. Was it because of how long he's been with her? How much he's gone through with her? He couldn't even _begin_ to name off all the amazing adventures he's went on with her over the past couple years.

He shook off the odd feeling, deciding not to dwell on it too much. Whatever the feeling was, it didn't matter. He'd protect her any day, no matter the circumstances. Besides, maybe he was just feeling sick—because each time he thought of her, his heart beat a little faster, his insides felt a bit warmer, and his stomach felt like it had swirls of fire dancing within.

_…Yeah, I must be getting sick,_ he told himself_. But it's funny, why do I only feel sick when I think of Lucy?_ He almost stopped walking at that moment.

After a few seconds, he felt a huge grin spread across his face. "She's so weird." He said aloud with a cheerful laugh.

**-F-R-O-Z-E-N-F-L-A-M-E-S-**

Meanwhile, Lucy was inside her apartment, thinking about someone completely different than a fire or ice mage.

Leo the Lion, leader of the Twelve Golden Keys of the Zodiac, celestial spirit of an alternate universe. Or in other words, Loke.

She felt more attached to him than usual. She couldn't understand why. Maybe it was because of how special he treated her? He acted as though she was his goddess, or even princess—rather than master. It was so charming.

She shook off the thought, trying to focus more on writing her book. But Loke kept invading her mind. He hadn't even come to see her this evening, which was unusual. Maybe he was busy.

Sighing at the thought, she finished a descriptive paragraph. _But I shouldn't feel that way,_ she told herself. After all, he probably treated every girl like that. No, she _knew_ he treated every girl like that. He was simply a kind, handsome gentleman. The boy of every girl's dreams.

She couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy at the thought. _But he's __**my**__ gentleman,_ she thought in the back of her mind. And technically, she was right, since she pretty much owned him. Golden key and all.

_No, bad Lucy!_ She scolded herself. She dropped the pen and grabbed a fistful of her silky blonde hair. _Loke's just a friend and partner,_ she reminded herself. Nothing else mattered.

Neither thoughts of a stripping ice-wizard nor a fire-breathing human crossed her mind that night. Natsu and Gray were the least of her worries. The only boy she questioned herself about was Loke—and she hated to admit it.

Sighing again, she stood up from her desk. She shuffled over to her window and glanced outside. It was getting pretty late, and she was feeling sleepy.

Finally, she got into bed, turned off the lamp, and slowly fluttered her eyes closed.

Her dreams that night lingered only around a certain chivalrous, lady-killing, Lion celestial spirit.

* * *

**A.N.:** Ahhh, short chapter is short ._.

But, if you hadn't noticed, this was basically just a chapter meant for detailing everyone's feelings. First up was Gray about Lucy, then Natsu about Lucy, and lastly, Lucy about Loke XD If you haven't realized, this is a NaLu vs GraLu story with _a side of UNREQUITED __Loke x Lucy_. Meaning, she likes him, but he doesn't like her back. I know it sounds unbelievable at the moment (ex: BUT ASDFGHJKL LOKE ALREADY LOVES LUCY), but in later chapters, you'll get more insight on how he _really_ feels. Just a heads up for any LoLu fans… yeah, there technically won't be any LoLu in this story… but it's necessary for the plot, so don't think I'm doing it for no reason :3

Also, next chapter will _definitely_ be longer. Like, a lot. We'll finally get more Gray vs Natsu bickering over Lucy but while she's actually there XD Plus, the whole guild gets involved. Bad move, guys… you shouldn't argue over a girl while at the guild :0 -! …Okay, see ya there~! _Please_ review, I'm already close to losing interest in this story, since I care _much more_ about my Hetalia one that I just want to work on that series full time... :p


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